


love is the sum of our choices

by Settiai



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Friendship, One Shot, Podfic Available, Yuletide, Yuletide 2016, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-09 15:20:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8896525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Settiai/pseuds/Settiai
Summary: What are friends for if not underhanded moves and not-so-helpful advice?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dallisons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dallisons/gifts).



"Why are you asking _me_ of all people?" Percy asked, looking up from the arrow he was working on and raising his eyebrows.

Vex sighed as she grabbed an empty chair sitting nearby, turned it backwards, and sat down in it with her head resting on the chair's back. "Who else would you suggest?" she asked dryly. "My brother? Keyleth? Grog?"

Percy opened his mouth.

"If you say Scanlan, I'm going to shoot you with that arrow once you're finished with it," Vex said warningly, narrowing her eyes.

Percy closed his mouth.

Vex rolled her eyes. "That's what I thought."

"Why don't you just tell her?" Percy asked, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose. "What's the worst that could happen? It's Pike. It's not like she's going to hate you forever if she doesn't feel the same way."

With a sigh, Vex wrapped her arms around the chair's back. "It would make things awkward," she said. "You know, like it did when my brother declared he was in love with Keyleth with no warning whatsoever."

Shaking his head, Percy moved his hand and fiddled absent-mindedly with the earring he was wearing. "Vex, I'm the last person who should be giving you advice about this," he said. "If you're interested in Pike, you should tell her. End of story."

"You're not helping," she muttered, hugging the chair a bit harder.

Percy shrugged at her. "Why would you think I'd be helpful when it came to something like this?" he asked, more than a little amusement in his voice.

It was a fair question. As far as Vex knew, Percy had never shown any interest in anyone as long as she'd known him. It wasn't like she had all that many options to choose from, though, when it came down to it.

"Because you're my friend?" Vex said lightly. "Because you love me and want me to be happy? Because if you don't help me, I'm going to send my brother down here to get advice on how to woo Keyleth?" She paused. "Or Gilmore. Or both of them? I'm not sure what's going on with that, to be honest."

Percy's mouth twitched. "You're a cruel woman."

Vex nodded. "I try," she agreed. "Come on, Percy, give me _something_ to work with. I don't have any idea what to do about this."

Percy sighed as he reached up and fiddled with his earring again. An expression she couldn't quite read flashed across his face, there and gone before she could take a closer look. "I think that anyone who's won your heart is lucky indeed," he said, the corners of his mouth turning up in a smile. "And Pike is more than worthy of it."

She sat there for a moment, waiting expectantly. When it became clear that he wasn't going to continue, she rolled her eyes. "Percival," she whined, drawing his name out. "I'm here for your advice, not your blessing."

"Can't I give both?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Vex glared at him. "I'm still waiting for the advice part of it."

"My advice was that you should _tell her_ ," Percy said pointedly.

She sighed. "Very helpful, oh great mastermind," Vex grumbled. "What am I supposed to do? Walk up to her, say 'hey Pike, I think I'm in love with you', and see what happens?"

"I've heard worse plans," a familiar voice said from behind her.

A _very_ familiar voice.

Vex's eyes went wide and she spun around so fast that the chair she was sitting in almost tipped her out on the floor. As it was, she had to steady herself to keep from falling.

From where she was standing in the doorway, Pike raised her eyebrows. She was wearing an all but unreadable expression on her face, but there was no hiding the amusement in her eyes.

"How much of that did you hear?" Vex asked a little faintly.

Pike's mouth twitched, and she reached up to flick the earring in her ear. "Counting the part that was broadcast to everyone or not?"

Vex gaped at her for a moment before spinning in Percy's direction.

He had no right to look that fucking smug.

"I hate you so much right now," Vex hissed at him, her eyes flashing. "So much."

Percy just smirked at her. "I love you too, dear," he said. Then he turned his attention back towards the arrow he'd been working on before Vex had stormed into his workroom in the first place.

Vex glared at him, even though she knew damn well he couldn't see it.

Behind her, Pike cleared her throat. "Vex?"

Gods damn it. She was going to strangle him. She really was.

"Pike," Vex said, aiming for casual as she turned back towards the door. She wasn't certain how well she succeeded.

Judging by the way Percy snorted, probably not that well.

The amusement she had noticed earlier had faded from Pike's face, and she was staring at Vex with a thoughtful look on her face. "We should probably talk."

"Yeah, we probably should," Vex agreed weakly.

Behind her, Percy snorted again. Vex mentally made a note to take a page out of her brother's book and figure out some way to make him pay for this whole mess.

Of course, he'd probably be expecting that.

Pike was standing there, staring at her expectantly, so Vex pushed that thought to the back of her mind for the time being. She stood up from the chair she'd been sitting in and made her way over to the doorway, trying not to let her trepidation show as Pike gestured for her to leave first.

This was not what she had been expecting when she'd come down here to ask Percy for advice.

There was a quiet thud as Pike presumably shut the door behind them. Vex quietly tried not to panic.

"So," Pike said quietly.

Vex clenched her fists at her side as she turned to face Pike. "So."

Pike's mouth twisted up into a smile. "Is this the part where I admit that I heard that last part you said?"

"I assumed as much," Vex said sheepishly. She took a deep breath and forced her fists to unclench. "Damn it, this isn't how I wanted this to go."

The amusement was back on Pike's face. "Vex."

Vex shook her head. "No, really," she said. "I mean it. I'm not my brother. I wasn't planning on throwing this at you out of nowhere."

Pike sighed. "Vex."

"But Percy just had to stick his nose where it wasn't wanted, and—"

"Vex!" Pike exclaimed.

Vex's mouth snapped shut mid-rant.

Pike took a few steps forward and reached up to pull on the front of Vex's shirt, clearly gesturing for her to kneel down so that they were face-to-face. After a second's hesitation, Vex did so.

"Would you like to actually say it to my face this time?" Pike asked curiously.

Vex could practically feel her face growing red. "Can we just pretend that I did so you can turn me down and I can go hide in embarrassment?"

Pike sighed. "Vex."

The earring in Vex's ear crackled. "Will you please just kiss already?" Percy's voice asked somewhat plaintively. "I'd like to be able to leave my workshop at some point."

"Shut up, Percy," Vex snapped.

It overlapped with Pike's reply of: "I'm trying my best."

Vex blinked owlishly at her.

Pike smiled.

"Oh," Vex said quietly. " _Oh_."

**Author's Note:**

> Find me over on Tumblr. (http://settiai.tumblr.com/)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] love is the sum of our choices](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10028705) by [argentumlupine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/argentumlupine/pseuds/argentumlupine)




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